From Lunar Missions to Life Support: Tech Breakthroughs Advance Humanity's Reach

Physics & Space

• NASA announced the four-person crew for Artemis 3, which is scheduled to launch next year (2027) to practice complex lunar landing procedures in low-Earth orbit (LEO). The mission will feature commander Randy Bresnik, pilot Luca Parmitano, and mission specialists Andre Douglas and Frank Rubio. During the flight, the Orion spacecraft will conduct rendezvous and docking tests with two commercially built landers: SpaceX's Starship and Blue Origin’s Blue Moon, enabling NASA to test critical hardware for future moon missions [12, 24]. ^[12][24]
• Commonwealth Fusion has published five peer-reviewed papers detailing its plan for a fusion reactor, ARC, which aims to generate 400 MW of net electricity after powering plant operations from an expected total output of about 1.13 GW [14]. The tokamak design will achieve fusion between deuterium and tritium, with the resulting energy being used to drive a turbine via molten salt that surrounds the chamber [14]. This process involves running nuclear reactions within 15-minute periods interspersed with one-minute resets, allowing for continuous power generation even when fusion is not actively occurring [14]. ^[14]
• A new single propellant system could enable small satellites to use both chemical and electrical thrusters, significantly expanding their mission capabilities on smaller platforms [15]. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) study suggests that Advanced Spacecraft Energetic Non-Toxic Propellant (ASCENT), a greener alternative to hydrazine, can power electrospray thrusters designed for fine trajectory adjustments, in addition to its use with chemical thrusters used for large maneuvers [15]. This breakthrough is being tested by NASA's Green Propulsion Dual Mode (GPDM) mission on a low Earth-orbit cubesat no earlier than November, validating the system’s performance for future deep space missions, including those targeting Mars [15]. ^[15]